Tag Archives: Human Strain Probiotics

How to Choose the Right Probiotic

There are so many probiotic products on the market today that knowing how to choose one can be a true task. It can also be intimidating.

First of all, quality is key. It is important to know that the company who makes the product is reputable, and their product has been well researched.

Colony forming units (CFU’s), are the number of bacteria in the product. Our bodies naturally have about 100 trillion bacteria at any one time. It is commonly advised to have a minimum of 40 billion CFU’s in a probiotic formula, although more is not always better.

This varies with age, and need.

In order to get what you need, there are different products whose bacteria act differently due to the strains used, or the process used to create them. Multiple strains are very important as each bacterium has a different job.

One way to go is with human strain probiotics. These are comprised of human sourced microflora which are able to survive the high acid content in the stomach, and remain there to colonize and do their job of increasing the good bacteria.

One product containing human strains is known as Perfect Pass Probiotic. Perfect Pass Probiotic contains three essential ingredients that are among the most researched and beneficial. These strains are:

Bacillus Coagulans: known for reducing inflammation and increasing good bacteria in the gut.

Bacillus Subtilis HU58: stimulates the immune system and is known as a strong deterrent of bad bacteria.

Bacillus Clausii: very commonly used in many products. It is known to be very beneficial in post-antibiotic treatment to rebuild the good bacteria.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are also of great importance. They feed the good bacteria and help it to grow. Some products come all in one and others are sold separately. Perfect Pass Prebiotic is the right food for the bacterial strains in the Perfect Pass Probiotic formula. It is a well-studied soluble fiber.

Probiotics of choice should have no added fillers, be non-GMO, and gluten free.

What are Human Strain Probiotics?

When discussing probiotics, the term “human strain” is not well understood at all.

It actually refers to probiotic strains that are recognised by the human body and therefore compatible with the human body.

Inspite of the name, “human-strain” probiotics don’t actually involve humans or human byproducts as ingredients. They’re just a particular species of microorganisms that naturally (or exclusively) live in nature as well as in the human already.

Recent Human Microbiome Project research done by NIH, the National Institute for Health, has defined probiotics by strict criteria. We see lots of references on line that quote the ‘old’ definition. They are not correct and out of date.

This is how a ‘true’ probiotic is now defined:

1. The organism must be a normally occurring organism in the digestive tract.2. In order to consistently trigger a healthy boost in immune function the organism must be supplemented in concentrations higher than what normally occurs in the digestive tract.3. The organism must be able to survive in the digestive tract as well as in the environment. i.e. not be affected by stomach acid and bile.

This new information supercedes the ‘old’ definition that said: “probiotics are live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confers a health benefit on the host.”

Interestingly enough there are very few probiotics in the marketplace today that meet all three of these criteria!

Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria

Most probiotics available on the market today contain Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species. According to the new probiotic criteria, they do meet the first requirement defined by NIH research. They do naturally occur in the digestive tract.

In fact, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species are in very high concentrations in the digestive tract of humans. But that is precisely why these two bacteria don’t meet criteria #2.

There are more that 20 trillion lactobacillus and bifidobacteria species in the average human digestive tract. Most probiotics on the shelf contain 100 – 200 billion strains. This is not nearly the amount that would result in long term benefit. This also assumes that the bacteria survive the digestive tract.

Research shows that a majority of orally supplemented lactobacillus and bifidobacteria species are destroyed by the conditions found in the stomach and upper digestive tract. Only few survive.

Another important factor is that lactobacillus and bifidobacteria are anaerobic organisms that are designed to live in the digestive tract. They don’t normally live in the environment because they are sensitive to the presence of oxygen, UV light and other chemicals found in the natural environment.

This means they do not fit #3 requirement of our new definition of probiotics either.

In actual fact, people get their initial dose of lactobacillus and bifidobacteria from their mothers through birth and breast feeding.

Later in life, it’s necessary for orally derived probiotics to be organisms that live naturally in the environment as well as in the digestive system so that they can be recognized by the human microbiota.

What about yogurt?

In light of this information, yogurts and yogurt based drinks like kefir, don’t work as probiotics. They do have benefits but that’s from the fermentation process and those benefits are contained in the product in the form of micro-nutrients.

But those strains used in yogurts and other fermented dairy products, don’t have the ability to survive the harsh stomach acids and actually don’t colonize in the GI. For a true probiotic, we need one that will survive the stomach acid. We need human strain probiotics.

What we refer to as human strain probiotics are ones that are found in nature in the identical form as they are found in the human body.

They are known as commensal organisms. They can’t be used to grow yogurt. They have to be harvested from nature.

The strains we recommend are bacillus strains that are contained in endospores. Nature has designed these spores to be daily, foundational food.

They are transient microorganisms, so they don’t stay in the gut forever.

They go in, they perform their function and than they leave.

This is important factor, as this helps to keep their numbers in the digestive tract relatively low and that’s why each does is relatively low.

FYI – It usually takes about 21 days to reach a steady state of concentration in the gut when they are taken on a daily basis.

We suggest eating a diet low that is low in refined sugars and higher in fibers so that we encourage our own good bacteria to grow. In fact, the spores are able to increase the growth of the good bacteria present in the gut as well.

Between the spores being present and an improved diet, we are able to create the right microbiota balance. If the spores are removed, then we are disturbing the balance that may lead to what we call ‘Dysbiosis‘.

This is why we recommend taking Perfect Pass Bacillus Spore Probiotics on a daily basis as it’s important to maintaining good bacteria balance. We constantly bombard our digestive system on a daily basis. The bacillus spores are great at monitoring our gut and keeping it in balance.

Do You Know What’s In Your Probiotic?
A Comparison of Human Strains Vs. Dairy and Animal Strains

A probiotic is a probiotic, right?

Not so fast.

Before we dive in to the most effective probiotics for your gut health, let’s review the three main origins of probiotic strains:

human

dairy

animal

Now before you buy a supplement, you might be wondering:

Why do supplement companies use dairy or animal probiotics for human consumption in the first place?

The answer might surprise you.

Animal Strains Aren’t Just for Humans

Dr. Nigel Plummer, a doctor in microbial physiology who specializes in the use of probiotics to fight chronic disease, was involved in designing animal strains…for animal consumption.

Dr. Plummer explains1:

“I was involved in designing animal probiotics. This was particularly for the agricultural industry, where we were looking at designing probiotics for young pigs and young calves, to prevent diarrhea.

In a badly managed farm, you might have 20 to 30% of young pigs and young calves that actually die from diarrhea before weaning.”

The Case for Human Strains

Do human beings also benefit from animal-based strains?

It’s important to understand that one of the main functions of a probiotic supplement, on a cellular level, is to attach to your epithelial cells. If probiotics can’t attach to your cells, then you’ll reap less rewards in terms of your gut health.

Dr. Plummer explains:

“When we started to look at human probiotics, we compared the way they attach to human epithelial cells, to the way that the animal strains attach to human epithelial cells.”

The winner?

“Although the animal strains did attach to human epithelial cells…the efficiency of colonization of the epithelial cells was much lower than the human strains.

“This was very good evidence…that human strains were more adapted to the environment of epithelial cells than animal strains.”

It might make sense to think about human strain probiotics as already adapted to your own human gastrointestinal tract. The animal strains just aren’t designed to attach to your cells–and improve your gut health–the way human strains can.

“The microflora in our GI tract is a very complex community. [Human probiotics are] adapted to the gut environment.”

What about dairy? Dr. Plummer believes that dairy-based strains, like yogurt, are also inadequate:

“Should we be using yogurt strains as probiotic strains? The answer is no.”

When choosing a probiotic supplement, you’ll reap more rewards in terms of your gut health, and relief from digestive discomforts, if you choose human strains over dairy or animal strains.

The Health Benefits of Human Strain Probiotics

If you suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, antibiotic resistance, C. Difficile, and other digestive discomforts, can you really expect that human strain probiotics will help?

According to Seroyal, a medical research firm, the science is promising2:

Coming Soon…

Here at Good Gut Solution, a leader in gut health since 1998, we are currently looking towards manufacturing a human strain probiotic that’s purely a probiotic, and more effective for your gut than existing animal and dairy strains.

To get notified when it’s available, join 25,000 readers on our Good Gut Solution newsletter (on the left sidebar). You’ll also receive a coupon for 10% off all probiotics and other supplements store-wide.